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Parent urges investigation after report of student bringing gun near high school dismissal
Summary
A parent told the Chicago Board of Education that school and police response to a reported threat at her child's high school was delayed and unclear; she asked the board for a district‑level investigation and better timelines and communication to parents.
Jessica Kearns, who identified herself as a parent of a local high‑school student, told the Chicago Board of Education during public participation on May 7 that a school reported a student who said he would retrieve a gun and return to shoot the school; the student was arrested roughly 30 minutes later, two minutes before dismissal, and a firearm was recovered.
Kearns said communication from the school was minimal and that parents were not told the full facts: "There was no lockdown... There was minimal communication from the school," she said. She said initial accounts from the principal to the local school council described the incident as an "8 minute turnaround," but that the parent timeline showed a 30‑minute period between the report and the arrest. "When questioned by the local school council...the principal refuses to answer questions," Kearns said.
Kearns asked the board to investigate the timeline and district practice for informing families when threats occur and to determine whether district safety‑and‑security teams should answer parent inquiries directly. "I'm asking for an investigation into this and also to look at if this is a district wide policy because across the entire district, parents need to have access to this information when there are major safety concerns," she said.
Ending: Kearns requested the board ensure consistent communication and clear procedures for parents after safety incidents; she said she would be concerned if other families had faced similar gaps in communication.
